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June – In My Kitchen

At long last I have some things to write about for the In My Kitchen blogging group; truthfully there hasn’t been a lot going on in my kitchen these last couple of months, at least not in the way of interesting food news. We’ve been away on holiday; and when home, involved with the upgrades to our cabin in Fort Bragg. It is finally becoming a real house and not just a holiday cabin. Our contractor has assured us that the new addition will be completed sometime in July, we shall see. Meanwhile the construction team has made real progress now that the rain has stopped. I will be posting pictures of the new bedroom and bath soon, but it doesn’t have much to do with the kitchen so please humor me. After the construction completion, comes the creation of a real garden, both vegetable and ornamental. That will be my own project and I am looking forward to getting my hands in the dirt.

Last weekend I hosted a wedding shower, a real English tea for a good friend’s daughter.

Roses from Wedding Shower

The garden roses put on their best show for table decorations, and I got to appreciate them for a few days after it was over.

Also left over were a few (not many) sandwiches and tea cakes. The mother of the groom made the desserts and they were well worth any extra calories. Aren’t they beautiful?

Tea Cakes

She is a genius and is also planning to bake the wedding cake.

Shower Desserts

We made a big selection of tea sandwiches. All of the usual kinds were represented…egg salad, cucumber and cream cheese, smoked salmon, goat cheese and fig spread, and goat cheese with olive spread.

Tea Sandwiches

Tea Sandwiches

More Tea Sandwiches

I made a few spreads and dips. Cashew hummus and almond sesame were hits. I will be posting the recipes.

Cashew Hummus

Almond Sesame and Curry Dip

Crudites

Also leftover were a few slices of delicious Danish rye sourdough baked by the mother of the groom. She has promised me some starter and the recipe.

Danish Rye

This is a very dense and flavorful bread, meant to be sliced thinly and amazing with the egg salad or cucumber/cream cheese sandwiches.

Mother of the Groom, Bride, and Mother of the Bride

We are all very excited for the happy bride and groom, plus the uniting of two wonderful families.

In my kitchen I have two new cookbooks to feed my passion (maybe it should be termed obsession) for them.

The Spice Companion

The Spice Companionby Lior Lev Sercarz is a comprehensive and knowledgeable guide to spices from around the world and how to use them. To those of us who love trying new flavors, it is a prize. It also has recommendations for new spice mixes, I look forward to trying some of them and will post the best.

And I couldn’t visit the Oaktown Spice Shop without making a couple of purchases. Cyprus citron lemon flake sea salt is fantastic sprinkled over simple roasted asparagus.

Cyprus Citron Lemon Flake Salt

I first read about Marsh Turkish Chili in My Pantry by Alice Waters. It has a great depth of smoky flavor and only moderate heat. It is known as “Maras biberi” in Turkey. The chili flakes are traditionally mixed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and used to season chicken, lamb, and goat dishes as well as vegetables.

Marash Turkish Chili

Dishing Up the Dirt

Dishing Up the Dirt by Andrea Bemis is the story of tumbleweed farm in Oregon. The recipes are simple but with a twist. I served the roasted beet and carrot lentil salad to my book club earlier in the month, only adapting the recipe a little by adding some curry powder to the lentils.

Roasted Beet & Carrot Lentil Salad with Feta and Yogurt Sauce

Finally from my kitchen I can see Casey and Quinn enjoying the sun and baking themselves on the deck.

Casey and Quinn on the deck, on the lookout for deer and squirrels

This is my June contribution to the “In My Kitchen” series. At the beginning of each month food bloggers worldwide give you a peek into their kitchens. Sherry of Sherry’s Pickings fame is our host, so click on the link and check out what’s happening elsewhere, or better still join in. You have until the 10th of the month to link up.

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19 thoughts on “June – In My Kitchen”

Your roses are beautiful Liz, clearly you have a green thumb. Good luck with the new garden when the time comes. The effort will reap huge rewards I’m sure. I’m a huge user of spices, meals would be very boring without them. Who said it was a dog’s life? Looks like your guys landed in the best place..

I will be posting the progress on the garden, it will be a big job as the soil is a sandy loam. It will need a lot of organic amendment plus we have gophers, deer, and rabbits (not to mention the occasional bear and mountain lion).

Hi Liz
Thanks for being part of IMK this month. Love your dog photo – they look very happy. Yes I can’t resist cookbooks either. I just keep buying them! I am drooling over all those beautiful cakes and sandwiches Nothing nicer than a tea sandwich And I am a huge fan of different sorts of salt. I have many in my pantry Cheers!

Hi Laura, we call them the “mighty sisters” after “Casey at the bat” and the “Mighty Quinn”. They are two years apart, same parents but different litters. At this point they are our surrogate kids, totally spoiled but delightful.

What kind of dogs? I will have to look over your old blog posts. Our own have different personalities even though the same parents. Casey is much like her father, very calm and easy going. Quinn is a nervous nellie and, as the breeder said, everything is about her.